


Tremble

by BloodRedRidingHood



Series: I'll Be Your Shield [20]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America: The First Avenger - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M, Natasha goes undercover, Phil pops by, vengence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-01
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2017-12-31 03:52:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1026933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodRedRidingHood/pseuds/BloodRedRidingHood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His presence was very calming, and that was just what she needed right now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tremble

**Author's Note:**

> SO SORRY this has taken so long. I've been working on my NaNoWriMo stuff, and finally got time to finish this. I hope everyone likes it.

"Agent Romanoff, you can see him now."

Natasha looked at the nurse, her eyes slightly glazed over. She stood up and followed the nurse, not really paying attention to where she was being led. The nurse left her at the door, looking down as she walked away. 

Natasha walked in, and a sobbed wracked her body when she saw him laying on the bed. She quickly went to him, taking his hand in both of hers. She kissed his fingers one by one, and then just held his hand to her cheek. Tears spilled unchecked from her eyes, and her body shook as she cried.

She cried until she was completely drained. Finally, when nothing except dry heaves escaped her, she pulled back and looked at him.

He almost looked as if he was sleeping, except that he wasn't breathing. And he was so cold. She brushed the blond hair off of his forehead and leaned down, pressing her lips to his.

"I love you, Steve," she whispered. She gave him one final kiss and left without looking back.

\---

Someone was knocking at the door. Again. 

Natasha sighed and glared over the back of the couch. She took a long draw from the bottle of vodka she was holding, praying that whoever it was just went away.

Apparently God or Thor or whoever wasn't listening, because the knocking started again. She reached for her gun under the cushion and aimed it at the door.

"Clint, I swear I will shoot you if you don't leave me alone."

Whoever it was kept knocking. Natasha stood up and walked to the door, gun and vodka bottle still in hand. Looking through the peephole, she felt her body grow cold. There was no possible way he could be standing there.

She pulled open the door slowly, not bothering to hide her shock. Natasha opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, she dropped the vodka and pulled him into the apartment.

"How?" Natasha's voice was trembling, and tears threatened to spill out of her eyes at any moment. "I heard Fury say that you were dead. We all did."

Phil dropped the small duffle he was holding and wrapped his arms around her. He held her like that for a while before he said anything. 

"Director Fury told you that so that you would be motivated to do the right thing. Literal Avengers." He chuckled and broke the embrace. "Spent some time in Tahiti. It's a magical place."

Natasha smiled and set her gun down on the counter. "I've been. What are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened, decided to come check up on you. Maybe tell you some stories. Listen to any stories you might want to share." Phil walked over to the couch and sat down. 

Natasha was surprised by how much she had missed her former handler. His presence was very calming, and that was just what she needed right now.

She walked over to the couch and curled up at the opposite end from Phil. He told her about his team, the missions they were running, Centipede, and his jet (which he seemed most proud of). He didn't seem to have any qualms about confidentiality, which Natasha appreciated. It was nice to think about something other than the loss that was crippling her mind. 

"Natasha," he said finally. "I don't know how, but he found out who the next target is going to be. Steve knew where the assassin is going next." He got up and brought the duffel bag over to the couch. Opening it, he pulled out a thick file, one of Natasha's black bodysuits, and two handguns. "You'll need these. No tracking device, no serial numbers, and all the information you'll need."

Phil bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving her alone with everything she needed to get this guy. 

\---

Natasha hated DC. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, but she did. Maybe it was the corruption and greed that seeped out of the very trees near Capital Hill. It was a familiar stench, but one she hadn't encountered in years. 

No wonder the Red Room had sent their assassin here.

She had infiltrated the gala that was being held in the Washington Convention Center. According to Steve's notes, the next target was going to be a very affluent senator who was being honored. As Natasha straightened her tie, she observed the rest of the servers.

Nobody stood out. Of course, that was the problem. If the assassin had been trained in the Red Room, like she was, this was not going to be easy. It was her job to blend in, to play a role, and to get close to the target. Not everyone was trained that way, though. She could only hope she would get a break.

Natasha spent the first two hours of the gala walking around with a serving tray full of unidentifiable hors d'oeuvres, trying to figure out where the assassin was going to strike. All of the guests seemed to know each other, and from what she could gather from the conversations, nobody seemed to stand out to them. Even with the staff, she was the only new hire in the last four months.

As she made another round, she noticed that a podium had been placed at the head of the room, facing the large wall of windows. _Of course._ She hurried out of the main ballroom and quickly made her way to the service exit, feigning illness to bypass her supervisors.

Once outside, she broke into a sprint until she faced the buildings opposite the convention center. The other targets had been killed in varying ways, but the common method was sniping. Unfortunately, there were a number of buildings to choose from. Natasha looked at her watch; the senator was scheduled to speak at 9:00, which gave her just under an hour to search all of the rooftops.

Then again, maybe not. She turned around, looking inside the ball room. Lining herself up so that she was staring straight at the podium, she spun 180 degrees. Bingo. If the Red Room wanted to make a statement, what better way than to paint the campaign slogan of a corrupt senator with his own brains?

Natasha took off. The building that the assassin was using had a night guard, who was taken care of with a swift kick to the temple. Snagging his access card, she ran straight to the stairwell and began making her way up. 

It didn't take her long to get to the roof, but before she went out, she paused. She had to gather herself, taking several deep breaths to clear her mind. She was about to confront the man who had killed Steve; she couldn't risk letting her emotions run the show. If she did that, she could die, or worse, get captured and handed back over to the Red Room. Twisting the ring Steve had given her, which she now wore on her left ring finger, she took one final breath and silently opened the door--

And froze.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for continuing on with this. I'm heading into the home stretch (only 10 more parts!), and after that I will be writing part 2 of my Stubborn Love series. However, I am doing NaNoWriMo this year on top of that, so updates may still be a bit slow. I've finally gotten the rest of this series fleshed out, so it (hopefully) won't take that long for me to write out.
> 
> And lastly, thank you all for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos. I know I don't reply to all of the comments, but I do read them all. A lot. It's what keeps me motivated to finish. So thank you.


End file.
